Do You Hear What I Hear?

Perhaps the worst of the ongoing side effects of my cancer treatments over this past winter is hearing loss. The drug I took for chemotherapy worked wonderfully in killing the cancer in my body, but also killed some of the cilia in my inner ears – meaning that I now hear several tones constantly, have trouble picking out conversations from noisy backgrounds, and have to strain to enjoy group activities like watching TV. If losing hearing is a payment for getting rid of cancer, it is a payment that I am happy to have made. But today, I read about a product that might be in my future.

The discreet ReSound LiNX became the first hearing aid in Apple’s Made for iPhone Hearing Aids program. It uses a Bluetooth connection that allows wearers to easily tweak hearing aid settings from their iPhone or iPad. The hearing aid also can stream music, play phone calls, and anything else you might listen to on an iPhone or iPad.

According to the article that I read, different settings are stored on the iPhone (at home, at work, restaurant, movie, etc) to customize the hearing aids for the specific situation. For example, at a restaurant the device could be set to de-emphasize background noise while emphasizing the conversation directly in front of the user.

My doctors told me to wait for at least six months after completing chemo before looking into hearing aids. I am coming up on that time pretty soon – and I look forward to seeing how much technology can restore my ability to hear. I do miss experiencing that dimension of life.